The wind around them intensified abruptly, fueling the fire. In the blink of an eye, the fireball grew even larger.
As it drew closer, a massive mechanical arm reached out from the front, blocking Mi Jia.
Even without a defensive module, the arm itself had considerable defensive capabilities, sufficient to handle attacks from these thousand-year soul beasts.
However, despite casually blocking the Silver Wolf's attack, Lin Xiao's brow furrowed deeper.
Such coordination was not surprising among soul masters, but for it to appear among soul beasts—especially those with cultivation levels no higher than a thousand years—was unusual.
His gaze swept the surroundings again, and Lin Xiao was certain: there must be a Wolf King among them. Only a pack led by a Wolf King would be this cohesive and troublesome.
Before he could pinpoint the Wolf King, another Silver Wolf lunged at him, interrupting his focus.
The mechanical arm swung down, and another Silver Wolf fell, its body mangled. Yet, the other wolves seemed fearless, continuing their charge. At that moment, Ju Zi's voice came from behind him.
"East."
Lin Xiao followed her voice and quickly locked onto a soul beast that looked similar in size to the others. Unlike the rest, its eyes weren't glowing with emerald light but were dimmer, with a mix of multiple colors if you looked closely.
It seemed to notice Lin Xiao's gaze, letting out a few whimpers from its throat. Instantly, several figures passed in front of it, and when Lin Xiao looked again, it had vanished.
Lin Xiao narrowed his eyes, then abruptly opened them wide, turning to swat away another lunging Silver Wolf.
Lin Xiao and the others kept moving outward, but the surrounding Silver Wolves were also constantly circling, keeping them trapped in the center with disciplined precision, like an army.
Ma Rulong, still short of his fourth ring, was breathing heavily after continuous attacks. Glancing up and seeing the dense emerald-green dots still surrounding them, he moved closer to Lin Xiao.
"Senior, I have a very powerful soul tool…"
"Wait a bit longer."
Lin Xiao knew what he was about to say but cut him off.
Not long after Lin Xiao spoke, his expression suddenly shifted. A commotion broke out among the Silver Wolves nearby.
"Charge!"
With a concise command, Lin Xiao fired another cannon blast, clearing a path. Unlike before, this time no other Silver Wolves filled the gap to block their way.
The others didn't know what had happened, but Lin Xiao, the instigator, understood clearly.
Since creating that new soul from the assassin in the prison, this was the first time he had used it in actual combat.
Though it was just a soul, unable to use soul skills and far weaker than before, as long as it concealed itself intentionally, even a Titled Douluo like Nightmare Douluo couldn't detect its presence.
Like during the assassination attempt on Xu Tianran, when that translucent figure emerged halfway from the Wolf King's body, the Wolf King only then sensed something was wrong.
But it was too late. When the soul's attack surged into the Wolf King's mental sea, its connection with the pack was instantly severed.
Unfortunately, judging by the Wolf King's state, Lin Xiao knew this attack wouldn't be enough to take it down.
Still, it was sufficient to break through the wolf pack's encirclement.
"We escaped."
Ma Rulong panted heavily.
"Don't stop. Keep running."
Lin Xiao didn't slow down, dragging the massive mechanical arm. Despite its weight, his movements were lighter than the others'.
Howl—
Before Ma Rulong could ask why, a wolf's howl echoed from behind, its long, drawn-out sound lingering.
"These Silver Wolves are quite vengeful," Lin Xiao said, glancing back as he shook his right hand. The cannon barrel on the mechanical arm dropped to the ground, replaced by a long, sharp blade.
Wolves were naturally vengeful creatures, a trait that persisted even as soul beasts. If they got surrounded again, escaping wouldn't be so easy.
"You guys go ahead."
"Senior?"
Seeing Lin Xiao stop, Ma Rulong and Ju Zi turned back sharply. Mi Jia, however, yanked them forward. "Hurry, with Senior's cultivation, us staying here will only distract him."
Lin Xiao glanced at Mi Jia but said nothing.
Distracted wasn't the issue, but with them so close, some of his methods were harder to use.
As he spoke, a Silver Wolf lunged at him.
Lin Xiao raised his right arm high, the charging soul tool in the mechanical arm running at full power. White vapor sprayed from the arm's vents, propelling Lin Xiao forward with immense force. The blade at the front flashed with cold light, slicing several Silver Wolves in half in an instant.
Lin Xiao glanced at his right arm subconsciously.
Not bad—it was pretty useful. For soul mentors with less impressive martial souls, this could be a powerful attack method. At the very least, thousand-year soul beasts couldn't easily harm him.
As he pondered, a silver flash darted past him.
The mechanical arm swung down with tremendous force, but the blade didn't slice through the Silver Wolf as before. Instead, it made a clang, as if striking metal.
Lin Xiao quickly recognized the Silver Wolf that blocked his attack—it was the Wolf King from earlier. No longer hiding its aura, its ten-thousand-year soul beast presence was unmistakable.
Could its body become this tough just from breaking through to ten thousand years?
A trace of doubt rose in Lin Xiao's mind. Either this Wolf King had awakened an ability similar to a Gold-Devouring Beast upon reaching ten thousand years, or it had some other extraordinary encounter.
His thoughts raced, but his hands didn't stop. The mechanical arm met the wolf's claw, but in the next instant, Lin Xiao felt his hand lighten. Half of the blade snapped off, flying through the air and embedding itself near his feet.
Something's off. For it to cut through even a soul tool, this Wolf King definitely had something unusual about it.
Lin Xiao's expression was now entirely different. He leaned forward, dodging attacks from other Silver Wolves while picking up the broken blade by his feet.
The sound of claws slicing through the air reached his ears. Lin Xiao swung his right arm, and the massive mechanical arm detached from his hand.
A silver-gray light glowed from his left arm. The broken blade in his left hand seemed to melt, flowing like liquid, transforming into a shield at his side in an instant.
Crash—
The shield shattered on impact, but the fragments didn't fall. Instead, they turned into flying knives shooting toward the Wolf King. At the same time, Lin Xiao's first soul ring lit up. With a push off the ground, he spun half a circle, his right hand blending among the flying knives, reaching for the Wolf King's neck.